SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2019 CAPSULE REVIEW - UNTOUCHABLE (2019)

In case you ever needed reminding of what a fucking deplorable, pig Hollywood mogul turned #MeToo pariah Harvey Weinstein is, then look no further than Untouchable. Ursula Macfarlane’s Untouchable doesn’t simply recount the industry altering investigative journalism that triggered the demise of Hollywood institution and Oscar oligarch; it appraises the forming of the Weinstein ecosystem. From concert promotion to Miramax, the Weinstein brothers’ boundless idolatry for old Hollywood rekindled a prestige engine that satiated an industry.

Macfarlane’s Untouchable focuses on capturing the harrowing accounts of victims throughout Harvey Weinstein’s career of abuse and presenting them in real time. The agony, disbelief and the breaking down of emotional and psychological roadblocks in the incredibly brave participants is necessarily uncomfortable. The patterns in their stories establish the framework for the investigation, but being presented with these accounts is their state of mind demonstrates the extent of Weinstein’s fear mongering manipulation.

Macfarlane certainly acknowledges the discomfort and guilt left in the wake of the Weinstein saga for his closest associates and even attempts to frame this disorientating orbit around Weinstein of wealth, prestige and accolades that legitimised an entire generation of American filmmakers. The world of Weinstein had become so pervasive that those vulnerable prospective or barely established performers found themselves drawn into the gyre where Weinstein preyed upon their insecurity.

One only wishes that MacFarlane had the breadth to contextualise the industry further. We’re left on the edges of true conception, (hopefully) grasping how hard it is to beyond the public tyrannical behaviour when your belly and your bank account are full.

“Loving” (2016) is the anti “Hidden Figures” (2016)

What makes “Loving” such a refreshing and enthralling viewing is that it does not magnify the participants for the sake of the tale to tell a Hollywood version of their trial and its enduring contribution to race relations and civil rights in the U.S.A. Nichols creates a beautifully dignified portrait of people whose ethics and good nature speak more volumes than any kind of extrapolation.

“The Wall” (2017) Sydney Film Festival Review

“The Wall” is a war movie, make no bones about it. Despite the slick premise, the refreshingly sound logic, the ‘real-time’ experience of the characters and the blistering pace, it presents the conflicted ethics and morality of the American war in Afghanistan.

“Ordinary People” (2016) Sydney Film Festival Review

One hopes desperately that this confronting film is an exaggeration - not the ‘ordinary’ experience in Manilla. “Ordinary People,” is not a neo-realist film about working class life, set in a culture of poverty, making a case for redistribution of wealth. The grim reality portrayed is horrific, the moral undertones make it mean.

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2019 REVIEW - Suburban Wildlife (2019)

Imogen McCluskey’s feature debut, Suburban Wildlife, is an enveloping account of millennial despondency. The moment that you realise you’re watching something with key generational insight is as Priscilla Doueihy’s Alice delivers a despondent thought about travelling the world to be enriched. Alice says, to paraphrase, how could I possibly go anywhere my parents haven’t been.

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2019 REVIEW - NEVER LOOK AWAY (2018)

Never Look Away is a return to form for von Donnersmarck, a film that poses serious questions about human existence, morality and artistic expression. Don’t be turned off by its three hour length -it’s an incredible journey that spans a tragic truth of modern history and one that we should never look away from.